Good practical advice Dave.

As a general rule of thumb, when using steel bolts in aluminum you want about two thread diameters of engagement.  The aluminum is significantly weaker than the steel, and it is desirable to have the bolt break before the internal threads shear.  Engine cases, cylinders, and cylinder heads are way more expensive than bolts.

So, for 6mm fasteners you would want to see around 12mm of engagement, 8mm fasteners should have about 16mm of engagement, etc.  I measured the alternator cover bolts protruding from the cover right at 11mm.  Seems like 10 to 12mm would be a good range.  Less than 10 and the fastener is too short or the first few threads in the case are stripped.  More that 12 and the bolt is too long.

Dave wrote on 02/28/24 at 03:52:13:
------------

That's what I've always done.  I keep the bolts with the cover that they held.

Also, I hand-tighten most case and bodywork bolts because I have a better chance of stopping before they strip than a torque wrench does.  Most of those types of bolts don't affect the operation of the bike and have lower torque values.  (I do use a torque wrench on the chassis, suspension, top-end, and anything inside of the cases.  

That's just what I do, you do you.

Want to just throw some info here -- I just (again) replaced the stator side gasket following a leak from a prior attempt. Now having succeeded I want to share these observations.

1: if you jack up the bike and have it off the side stand, you can remove the nuts from the long thru bolts and tap them out just enough to push the kickstand assembly away from the case without fully removing it. This lets you get access to the low bolts without totally taking the thing apart.

2: small amount of sealant around the wiring grommet (high tac from permatex) solved my oil leak.

3) this gasket for whatever reason is way, way less structurally sound than the clutch cover gasket. Just be observant of that. One should apply the new gasket with small dabs of grease to keep it in place when positioning the cover and battling the pull of the magnet.

4) that thrust washer can want to fall off. I also greased this. Taking it apart this time around I noticed it was not where it needs to be -- it was stuck to the magnet (thank God).

Anyway that's all

As it turns out, the gasket sealed fine.

It's the darn stator wire.  The grommet that the wires pass through isn't sealed very well when you get an aftermarket stator.  DBM documented his when it was new.  Mine was patched with some RTV when I bought the bike.  I tried cleaning up the old RTV and removing what I could.  Then applied fresh RTV.  This was obviously unsuccessful.  Here's a pic where the oil found its way down the wires and created an exit in the RTV.  

This photo is after I trimmed back some of the failed RTV.  NO, I'm not proud of this RTV job by me and the prior owner, but shame on the manufacturer for not making the grommet leak free!

I've cleaned up and cut back old RTV.  I'm trying polyurethane sealant this time.  It seems to want to stick better.  We'll see.  

I have a feeling this is going to continue to happen.  It's just a matter of if it will last 3 days, or 3 weeks, or 3 months, or 3 years.  I'd like 5 years please.

I don't exactly remember, but I think these cheap aftermarket stators are like $40 vs $400 for an OEM.  I don't fault or criticize anyone for going with the $40 aftermarket.  If you need a new stator and go the aftermarket route, check where the wires go through the grommet and if needed patch it up from both sides before you ever get oil near it.  Once oil gets in there, its almost impossible to get it perfectly clean and dry and then any kind of sealant will fail.